an answer to paraphyly

[Robin Panza]

Lammers wrote:
>BUT... what if we could travel back in time and collect specimens of tthose
>mainland populations BEFORE dispersal and establishment of P. fernandeziana?
>Back in the herbarium, we compare our time-machine-retrieved specimens to
>current ones.  Do we say, "Jeepers!  These specimens from 500,000 B.C (or
>whatever)  are a whole different species!  Look at how different they were
>before Planta fernandeziana diverged"?

And if we're dealing with species of short generation time (such as
invertebrates or herbs), I don't thing we necessarily need a time machine.
Look at specimens from older museum collections, and I'll bet someone could
document a case such as this--a taxon with little or no discernable changes
so far and a closely-related taxon that didn't exist at the time of the early
collection.

Robin K Panza                   panzar at clpgh.org
Section of Birds, Carnegie MNH
Pittsburgh  PA  15231  USA